Tesla Wants To Bring Its Robotaxis To New York. Good Luck With That

• Tesla is continuing its Robotaxi expansion just days after opening up human-driven rides in California.
• The automaker has listed job postings for vehicle operators in cities across America.
• One of the next cities on Tesla’s map is Brooklyn, which could be particularly tricky given New York City’s “good luck!” approach to traffic.

Just weeks after its initial launch and days after it expanded into California, Tesla’s Robotaxi service is already eyeing up plans for expansion by hiring more “vehicle operators” in cities across the U.S. And one of the next stops on its radar is New York City. 

Thanks to a number of job listings on Tesla’s website, the world has a look at exactly where Tesla is looking to open up shop for its Robotaxi program. Specifically, it’s looking to Brooklyn, land of the double-parked delivery vans, eBikes, red-light runners and just general chaos that wreaks havoc on even the most seasoned drivers—and pedestrians.

So far, the California launch is Tesla’s version of a Yellow Taxi (or Uber, take your pick), except the drivers in the front seat are just kind of letting FSD do its thing and intervening when needed. That’s because while Tesla does have a ride-hailing permit in the state, it lacks the permits it needs to operate its fleet of cars autonomously.

Tesla still seems determined to go toe-to-toe with Waymo, a company with an actual autonomous vehicle on the road today. That means taking the typical Tesla approach: launch first, solve the problem later.

What’s wild is that Waymo took years to inch its way across the U.S. Even today, it only operates in a limited number of suburbs across the country. But Tesla is looking at a map like it’s playing a game of Risk and Waymo is sitting across the table from it as if Williamsburg and Flatbush are just territories on the map.

In addition to Brooklyn, Tesla is also hiring vehicle operators in Arizona, Florida, Nevada, and Texas. You can find the exact cities listed on Tesla’s career site.

Tesla and Waymo have been in a bit of a—well, let’s just call it a service area measuring contest—or a few weeks. The all-electric automaker is determined to prove its worth by taking the typical tech mantra of “move fast and break things,” then applying it to self-driving cars. However, Tesla CEO Elon Musk says that it’s being “super paranoid” about safety, which means that putting drivers in the front seat to avoid accidents is likely the best case scenario here.

And, let’s be honest, even seasoned pros like Waymo make mistakes, which is why rushing things in what seems like an attempt to do battle against one another isn’t going to help the public image of autonomous cars.

As for Brooklyn, well, let’s see how things go. Anyone who has driven in New York City knows firsthand how stressful driving can be, so putting a Tesla’s FSD software in assertive mode won’t be the end-all fix here.